Woman and diabetes in year 2017
Woman and diabetes in year 2017 in Greece, Europe, in world map!
An outstanding event with the main theme of woman and diabetes and titled “Women and Diabetes – Our Right a Healthy Future”.
An event hosted on Friday,November 24th 2017 at the Hellenic Parliament Foundation and supported by SY.NED (Association of Greek Diabetes Youth).
Parallel exhibition was held in the area with subject “Feminism in the years of the Regime change, 1974-1990: ideas, collectivities, claims”.
Female speakers, women with type 1 or 2 diabetes, women who had gestational diabetes during a pregnancy, mothers of children with type 1 diabetes, young women, little girls, women all of whom gave a glamor particular meaning in this evening.
Excellent speaker panel (in sequence): Ms. Stratigaki Maria, Ms. Leontidou Eftichia, Ms. Tsirona Sofia, Ms. Koutsoudaki Vana, Ms. Boumaki Kostandina.
Speaker Ms. Stratigaki Maria
Speaker Ms. Leontidou Eftichia
Speaker Ms. Tsironi Sofia
Greek participations in Young Leader Programm IDF, Ms. Boumaki Konstantina and Mr. Vartholomaios P.B.
The vice president of the Hellenic Parliament Mr.Dimitrios Kremastinos, the manager of Hellenic Parliament for Parliamentary and Democracy’s exhibition section Ms. Enepekidou Anna, the president of SYNED Ms. Lagiou Spyridoula and the president “Proud Life” NGO
and Glykouli.gr founder Ms. Katsikadakou Maria, honored us with their presence and welcomed the event.
Hellenic Parliamnt vice president’s, Mr.Kremastinos Dimitrios, welcoming
Ms.Katsikadakou Maria
Event coordinator Ms.Nikitoglou Roxani
The whole idea is a great and inspired initiative of Glykouli.gr and Ms.Katsikadakou Maria, which is diabetes type 1 patient, and was part of the World Diabetes Day’s celebration in November 14th.
The International Diabetes Federation (IDF) has dedicated this year to Woman and Diabetes.
The report of International Diabetes Federation (IDF), occasioned by World Diabetes Day 2017, stating among others the impact of diabetes in female population.
Now, one in eleven adults suffers from diabetes. 10 million more than in 2015.
In over 160 countries worldwide, over 200 million women are living with diabetes and many of them face restrictions in their access in costly prevention practices, in initial detection and diagnosis of diabetes, in treatment and cure of diabetes, and especially women living in developed countries. Women with diabetes face discriminations, they have to survive in hostile social environments and are more likely to be driven to poverty, with fewer resources. Diabetes is a serious and neglected threat against a mother’s health and her child (gestational diabetes), affects one to six births and related to complications both during and after childbirth.
According to the president of IDF, Dr.Shaukat Sadikot: “Women and girls are key factors in adopting a healthy lifestyle in order to avoid further diabete’s increase and so it is important to become affordable and righteous the access to medicines, technology, education and information for the diabete’s best results to be achieved and their ability to encourage healthy behaviours to be strengthen”.
All three categories affect women and especially gestational diabetes which now appears more often (than the past) and sets strong foundations for the future appearance of type 2 diabetes in women.
Personally, I thought I knew enough about this subject and the speech programm, but finally I feel that I know very little for diabetes and its relation with woman’s organism.
For me the speeches were truly inspiring revelations.
Revealing a world and a reality which i did not know or imagine that they existed. In year 2017!
My relation with diebetes as a parent of a child who suffers from type 1 diabetes, I really feel that it’s still in premature phase.
Disease’s complications, its peculiarities that presents in woman’s organism, the complex processes in biological and psychological level that affect and are affected by diabetes, now cause at least awe!
A predominant issue in woman and diabetes subject, in necessity of gender equality and health!
An issue that forces us in 2017 to broach gender equality as a right and an assertion. I did not believe in my ears. I did not have the slightest idea. I’ve always believed in gender equality but never considered the peculiarities of each gender in relation to its specific health features. Finally, yes we are equal but with totally different needs as organisms!
And to make myself clear, even today health field is still built by men for men. Woman does not seem to have the minimum real presence (as a patient but also as a practicing medical practitioner). And from what I heard (or said), I distinctively mention that even the side effects that are written in each pharmaceutical substance, the researches done on each medicine, the effects being investigated in human organism, are almost exclusively performed in male patients.
Women have no representation. The research does not seem to put both genders equally across the board, as women’s organisms present different hormonal features throughout their lives – even during one month (with menstruation). Childbirth, which is a right and purely female act, is applied and achieved with strict medical criteria set by male doctors (with practices and methods that they want or wish to apply).
The specific characteristics of women’s organism up to date, are areas for investigation – which are of course not worth exploring – as the woman’s body is not as predictable as the man.
Characteristic particularity reported by the speakers is that the sign/warning sign of an infarction differs so much between the woman’s body and the man, which even today women do not give the proper attention, since the widespread symptoms (male) do not have any relation to those in the female organism (characteristic numbness in the jaw). The result: extremely dangerous to the woman’s health.
So, woman’s organism is not a fecund ground for medical research and practice??????
And this, of course, also happens in respect of woman and diabetes’ handling.
Hormonal changes, which are strongly beginning to affect woman’s organism since puberty. Disorders and changes on monthly basis with menstruation, that naturally continue throughout her adult life. Changes and variations that modified at the stage before, during and after menopause…And better not to mention changes that naturally follow any pregnancy.
The result. Women are urged to lead their diabetes individually and experimentally to the right regulation, having as their primary guide themselves.
The health of every woman with diabetes is an unknown unexplored planet for her.
Few are the scientists standing next to her on this journey and even fewer who study the particularities of the female organism in terms of proper regulation of its sugar – or, finally, the differences in diabetes in each sex and body.
Indeed, I have to admit that the existence of the feminist section originally appeared to be inappropriate in my eyes.
But after all I heard, I think it was so timely and targeted as ever.
Woman today needs as much as ever to claim, to express her collegiality and to generate new ideas. And this should be done dynamically in every direction and for the woman with diabetes.
In the center, among our sweet girls, the speaker Ms.Koutsoudaki Vana, midwife, special nurse.
Unfortunately, what we know today for woman with diabetes (and about the peculiarity of women’s health in general or otherwise its peculiar characteristics) is, in the end, very few.
The thoughts of a young mentor in IDF’s Young Leader Programm and event’s speaker, Ms.Boumaki Konstantina, are the ones that summarized the yesterday, today and tomorrow: “I wish no other woman will have to go through of what i’ve been through so to be able to get to know and handle diabetes from my childhood until today. I wish medicine to find ways to make all these easier for women”.
If only, all of us could have a better diabetes’ prevention and handling.
I wish women’s voices around the world to unite and manage to give solutions, ideas and practices to every medical issue and especially to diabetes.
I wish such events to be mutliplied and information and knowledge to be shared to everyone!
From my side warmly congratulations to the participants, the organizers and the speakers of this event.
